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He bit the side of his mouth and said, “Thanks for that.” I tried to walk toward the exit, but he pulled my hand. “At least let me…” He leaned down and kissed my lips. It didn’t matter that we were in the hotel lobby with guests walking by.
He made my toes curl, and my heart pound against my chest. When he pulled away, I gasped for my next breath. One I would have given up if it meant I could have his lips on me longer.
“I want you to be at the first game. Even if I’m not on the field. I want you there. Will you come?”
“I’ll be there,” I answered without asking when the game was. How I’d get there. And if it was too late to grab a ticket.
He licked his tongue across his lips, and I knew if I had to stand on the corner and plead with a scout, I’d do that.
“Thanks.” Then he told me, “I’ll have a ticket for you.”
“Thankyou.”As much as I wanted to stay and follow him to the room, I said, “Enjoy those pies. But notallof them.” I winked and walked away.
ChapterTwenty
Angelo
If shitting and beads of sweat rolling down my back were any sign of my preparedness, I was ready. Unfortunately, for me, it made my mind connect with the churning in my stomach. I couldn’t stand still. The noise in the locker room was louder than on a regular day. They were overtalking the music that came from somebody’s speaker. When I tried to find a seat near my locker, I failed.
My guts started to bubble again, and I was off to the toilet.
From the other side of the door, I heard, “Bruh, you alright in there? Do you even have anything else to shit out at this point?” Forrest chuckled and I smirked as I stared at his cleats beneath the door.
He leaned against the door, and how he could stand there and try to talk to me while I shit was beyond me. But I didn’t have it in me to tell him to leave before I blew the toilet up. Whatever was in had to get out for me to take the field.
“Go somewhere, man,” I said as the sweat formed on my face. “Give me a minute,” I shouted when he didn’t move.
Before most of my games, I had some level of anxiety. A racing heart and an unsteady hand, maybe. But the shits? I looked up to the ceiling and said, “God, not this.”
I cleared my stomach and stepped out of the stall. Forrest wasn’t too far away. Laughing, he looked at me and shook his head. “It was serious in there, wasn’t it?”
“How are you even this calm?” I asked, looking at his relaxed body. Not a stitch of sweat in sight.
He shrugged. “Easy, I tell myself this is what I do day in and day out.” He reminded me, “It’s nothing new. Now if they ask me to sing the national anthem in the middle of the field.” He pointed to the toilet. “I might end up in there beside you.”
I smirked. “I guess.” Somehow his reminder eased my mind. My stomach didn’t gurgle as much, and I was able to wipe the sweat from my brow without it returning. “Damn.” I looked in the mirror and splashed a little water just in case.
At my locker, I finished pulling on my pads and lacing up my cleats. Coach stood in front of us all and gave us his rendition of a pep talk. I learned after our first pre-season game that unless Coach Wagner was talking plays, he didn’t need to say much else. Still, I listened as he attempted.
“Today is the first game of the season. We will go out there and show the fans what we’ve been doing the past several weeks. Win or lose, set the pace. Leave it all on the field.”
Okay, so maybe it wasn’t terrible. His words hit home. Combined with Forrest’s reminder, I was ready to hurl that ball. Run if necessary. Whatever it took to get six on the board. I looked down at our kicker and hoped he’d deliver on the seventh. We huddled in the middle of the room, and after a “one, two, Fury,” we walked out the locker room.
On the sidelines, I looked up into the stands. Somewhere up there, my parents and Gigi sat ready to watch me. More than anything I wanted to make them proud of the player they’d see on the field.
A tap on my shoulder brought my attention back to the field. Mario leaned over a crutch. His smile was wide. Wider than mine would be if I suffered an injury and missed the first game of the season. “Alright, rook, you got the team till I’m back on the field.” He smirked. “Play well, but not too well.” He winked.
“I got you,” I assured him. I couldn’t promise him I wasn’t about to give it my all though. My intention was to win the game. To show the other teams in the league what they passed up. To my coaches back at Tennessee and Magnolia High, I wanted them to know they did a good job with me over the years.
After the coin toss, it was our offense that took the field. We huddled, I called the first play, and broke ready to throw the ball to Jacobi. I stood on the line. The ball snapped and was in my hands as the crowd began to cheer. I found Jacobi in his spot on the right of the field, but as soon as I released, I knew it wouldn’t make it to him. My eyes widened as it fell to the ground.
My jaws tensed and we lined back up.At least it wasn’t intercepted.
“Come on, man,” Forrest eyed me, “ease up. You got this.”
“Yeah, we got this. And you better have it.” I stared at Forrest. “I’m throwing it your way.”
“Bet.” He shrugged like it was a day in the park.
